Tuesday Trifles

A few...well, trifles, for you this morning, then more powder.  Really, I can quit at any time....

There may not be much more blogging this week, due to travel and some other complications.  Also, a little blogger burnout.  Nothing to worry about for the long term, but it pays to manage it in the short-term.

Wearing The Black Hat - This guy caused much of the mayhem in the Sony finish, but there's no call for the hate:

Ryan Palmer was in a precarious position on the final hole of the Sony Open on Sunday. The 43-year-old PGA Tour veteran was one shot back on the 18th and had sailed his

drive right into a fairway bunker. The par-5 18th at Waialae C.C. was the easiest hole of the week; in that moment, Palmer seemingly needed birdie, possibly an eagle, to force a playoff. 

Given the option of playing safe for the big check or going for the W and risking hundreds of thousands of dollars, a contingent of Tour players would have laid up. Palmer choose the latter route, going full-send with a fairway wood from 280 yards, in the pouring rain no less, trying to capture a victory. In that vein, Palmer's daring should be applauded. 

Unfortunately for Palmer, his approach went righter than Scott Norwood, bouncing off a scoreboard and into the ether

That's pretty funny...  Do you think, as his kick was sailing right, that Norwood had any sense he'd still be a punching bag thirty years later?

Here's the part where he could be criticized:

What transpired next arguably altered the tournament. 

Rather than hit a provisional, Palmer went ahead up toward the green, confident someone would find his ball. It was a curious decision; aside from his rock sailing into a different time zone, the group behind him—including then-leader Brendan Steele and Cameron Smith, who was one shot back—had been waiting for 20-something minutes on the tee box. The duo, along with Kevin Kisner, did hit their drives after Palmer hit his approach, yet would wait another 15 minutes to take their second shots.

Very arguably....  As you can see, it was already a mess before Palmer hit his shot.  His ball went into uncharted territory, as I noted yesterday.  But, if not actually OB, their balls are always found because there's so many people around.  

Ultimately, this was Palmer's take:

And, you know what?  He's right!  The situation was completely unfair, but we should have no expectation of fairness.  And that Man of Steele pretty much agreed:

To Steele's credit, he publicly took the blame for his shot on the final hole. “The lie was good,” Steele said. “It was just a 2-iron to win a golf tournament. It’s hard.”

Really hard, but good on Steele for his acceptance of it all.

Double Secret Probation -  The PGA Tour has a new policy to combat slow play, and Joel Beall is here with a helpful column with everything we need to know.  If the Tour is committed, I expect great results:

What's not addressed 

In Hawaii, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was adamant that the primary

objective is not necessarily to speed up play. “A focus on time creates other problems,” Monahan said. 

PGA Tour senior vice president and chief of operations Tyler Dennis confirmed that's not the focus. "The overall round times haven’t really changed over the last 20 years," Dennis said, citing research from historical ShotLink data. As such, these changes won't address the amount of time it takes to play a round—especially on Thursdays and Fridays—or the difficulty some events face in finishing in the daylight.

There's something to be said for managing expectations...  Seems like it will be every bit as effective as, say, that Ryder Cup Task Force.

It so happens that the entire protocol revolves around making a list and checking it twice:

Observation List 

Rather than focusing on groups that are out of position, the Tour is shifting its gaze to individuals. An "Observation List" will be created, one that will be kept private from the public and PGA Tour membership as a whole.

That's the double secret probation reference in the title, as the Tour's penchant for secrecy trumps all.

But riddle me this, Batman.  Don't we want players to know they're under observation?  because, you know, they might speed up....  Oh yeah, I forgot, that's not our objective.

But what might the objective be?  We're left with one obvious conclusion that, just like the Tour's drug testing protocol, the objective is to appear to be addressing an issue without actually threatening and feed lots.  Got it.

Carry on, JB.

I Could Live On That -  I offer no opinion, but Steve DiMeglio at Golfweek attempts to lay out the economics of Living Under Par.  For the 50th ranked player on the PGA Tour, here's the cash flow:

Cash flow: PGA Tour player

Winnings based on 25 events, ranking No. 50 on the PGA Tour. 

Total Income

$2,755,000 

Prize Money

$2.150 million 

FedEx Cup Bonus

$155,000 

Additional Earnings

$450,000

Includes endorsements, appearances at events such as store openings and private dinners, as well as fireside chats, speaking engagements and meet-and-greets. 

Expenses

$547,500

Hotels

$55,000

That’s $300 per night, seven nights per week. This sum is often higher if the player takes his family on the road and gets an extra room. 

Airfare

$30,000

Dependent on whether the player flies first class, takes family members, etc. 

Caddie

$200,000

Based on payment of $2,000 per start, plus 7% for made cuts and 10 percent for a victory. 

Swing Coach

$60,000

Players could work out a deal on a percentage basis of their earnings with their coach, usually from 1% to 4%. 

Trainer

$40,000 

Mental coach

$50,000 

Agent

$75,000

Expenditure is usually 10% to 20% of contracts, appearances and outings. No prize money is involved. 

Meals

$25,000 Breakfast and lunches are typically provided at tournament courses.

Accountant

$5,000 

Incidentals

$7,500

This includes tips, entertainment, etc. 

Write-offs

$526,000

Player’s travel: 100 percent.

This applies to only the player’s travel. If he takes his significant other or his family, that’s not allowed for a write-off unless the person or people are on the payroll.

Meals: 50 percent

Entertainment: 50 percent

Instructor, psychologist, physio, agent, caddie: 100 percent 

Taxes

$936,180

Top federal rate is 37%. States taxes and foreign taxes is about 5%. Players could file state taxes in 20 jurisdictions, as well as foreign taxes that are offset by a foreign tax credit in the United States. Players also pay self-employment tax. 

Bottom line

Take-home Pay: $1,271,320

Clearly not Phil, because he tips that $7,500 each week.  They do OK, though the expenses are likely higher than folks realize.  

One Job, And This Isn't It -  The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews is long on tradition, especially the tradition of misdirection:

The impact of climate change on the home of golf is to be investigated as scientists estimate almost £400m worth of damage could be caused by coastal erosion around Scotland. 

The Old Course at St Andrews is among several of the world's most prestigious courses to be looked at in the three-year project, led by Professor Bill Austin of the University of St Andrews. 

It is part of an action plan by the R&A golfing body, which granted £90,000 towards the research looking into wider challenges facing the sport's sustainability.

So guys, how's that delayed Distance Insights Project going?  Yanno, if the ball didn't go so far, we could play on those parts of the Old Course that remain above the water.

Seriously, you're so good at your day job, that you'll take on saving the planet.  Greta will be so pleased...

Buy Low, Sell High -  John Feinstein attempts to sell coal in Newcastle:

So, as he begins the year in which he will turn 50, at an event he has won twice, is it time 

to write off the man his myriad of fans love to call Lefty? Even though he’s actually right-handed? 

History says no. 

Golfers are frequently written off prematurely (see Woods, Eldrick T. and Nicklaus, Jack as prime examples) largely because they can re-find their game well into their 40s, long after most stars in other sports have retired to spouting clichés from a TV booth.

There is a reasonable history of old guys making runs in their later years.  Some get to the finish line, others come up short.

Does Phil fit the profile?  Unclear.  He has certainly stayed healthy, as guys like Jack and Snead did.  But the catch could be Phil's psoriatic arthritis, the effects of which we really don't know.

It seems strange to be writing his obituary at this point when he actually won in each of the last two seasons.  That said, his play after Pebble last year was really quite dreadful....  I don't know what he has left in the tank, but I'd be happy to enjoy it if he'd just keep his mouth shut.  Deal?

Trainer Wheels - Did you notice Martin Trainer in the field at Kapalua?  He's a Tour rookie that managed to grab a win last year, at the off-field Puerto Rico event.  Of course, things being what they are, I'm not sure he's made a cut since that "W", and he had a lock on last place all week on Maui.

The reason I mention him is that he has penned an engaging profile of the life of a Tour rookie, not all skittles and beer to say the least:

After paying my dues for all those years, I was finally ready for my stroll in the promised land. The idyllic lifestyle was about to begin, right? And yet, as I found out while

standing on hole number 10 of my 1:40 p.m. tee time of first PGA Tour event, the 2018 Safeway Open, I realized that the holy grail of aspiring golfers — a credit-card sized “PGA Tour Member” credential with my mug shot on it — wouldn’t instantly solve my insecurities. The doubts simply take a new form. Remember that these cards are perishable after one year. Rather than questioning whether you can make it to the PGA Tour, Tour rookies immediately begin to wonder if we’re good enough to stay.

Staying is way harder than getting there in the first place.

Martin has some funny stories from inside the ropes:

Loudest cheer 

At the Players Championship last year, I sat one stroke inside the cut line in round 2 on the par-3 17th, the infamous island green that promises delicious drama for the tens of thousands of fans and unbearable dread for players. I nervously flared my wedge barely onto dry land (phew). It went into the teeny pot bunker, so I splashed the most nerve-racking sand shot of my life past the hole to the back edge of the green, just inches from the water (phew again). 10 feet away for par, I hit my putt in the center of the hole, and the crowd went wild. Pretty cool.

And this funny bit:

Best (non) celebrity moment 

Standing on the 10th tee of a practice round at Bay Hill in March, a man addressed me and said: “Oh my god, I am a HUGE fan. Tell me your name again?” I told him. He responded: “I’ve never heard of you. But I’m a HUGE fan.”

Here I'm thinking he might want to get that prescription checked:

 Most difficult players to tell apart in person

Justin Rose/Webb Simpson

Patrick Rogers/Tommy Fleetwood

Rory McIlroy/Matthew Fitzpatrick

Harris English/Hudson Swafford

Nick Watney/Bill Haas

Not sure I see any of those as separated at birth moments.  Sneds and Russell Henley, on the other hand....

Of course, every new Tour member has to have a Tiger moment, right?

Best Tiger moment 

Like everyone from my generation, I idolized Tiger Woods. I was on the putting green Tuesday of the PGA Championship at Bethpage, and here came Tiger, followed by a stampede of cult-like fans screaming his name, begging for just a glance their way. He ignored them and began focusing on his practice: first short putts, then long putts across the green. Intermittently, he joked around with Jason Day. He seemed in a great mood.

One of his long putts scooted by me to another hole, and Tiger began to walk towards me. This was my chance. I imagined myself smoothly looking up, saying hi, making some super witty, memorable remark, and fulfilling the ultimate PGA Tour rite of passage my 12 year old self always imagined. 

Scared and starstruck, I avoided eye contact and turned away. I didn’t speak to him. My best Tiger moment was no Tiger moment at all. 

Maybe next year!

I'm sure there's lots of that going around, but thanks for sharing.  Another guy I'd be happy to root for, if he can summon the game.

5" of fresh stuff, so I'll leave you here.  Expect nothing, but check back just in case something crosses my screen that demands to be blogged.  otherwise, we'll play it by ear.